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"As a result of urgent detective measures, the federal security service has solved the murder of Russian journalist Darya Dugina, born in 1992," Tass reported quoting an FSB statement.The assassin, Natalia Vovk was identified as a citizen of Ukraine, who was born in 1979, the report further added. On July 23, 2022, Vovk and her daughter Sofya Shaban, who was born in 2010, arrived in Russia, the agency reported.The FSB claimed in its report that Vovk and Shaban went to the literary and musical festival Tradition on the day of the murder. Darya was there at the event as an...

Russia has said its forces have destroyed two U.S.-made High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, also known as HIMARS, in Ukraine. The number adds to the four HIMARS launchers that Russia claimed to have destroyed over a two-week period in July. A "high-precision" strike in Kharkiv took out the systems and killed 53 people, Lieutenant-General Igor Konashenkov, a spokesperson for the Russian defense ministry, said in an announcement on Monday, according to Russian state news agency TASS. "As a result of a high-precision strike in the city of Kharkiv, on the territory of the Ukrainian Energy Machines plant, two American launchers...

It was late March, and Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine was going poorly. The Kremlin had done its best to black out Western coverage of the war domestically, as well as its reports of failed Russian advances and widespread brutality. On the Kremlin’s flagship media channel, Russia-1, came a very different, ghoulish story: from Russian-occupied Ukraine, an “exclusive” report alleging Ukrainian militants brutally raped and murdered a Ukrainian woman and disfigured her corpse. In the footage, a correspondent follows a pro-Russian separatist soldier into a school basement in Mariupol to view the corpse of a dead woman. The...

Navy veteran Patrick Lancaster describes himself on Facebook as “an independent crowdfunded journalist,” but critics argue that he is a foot soldier in the Kremlin’s information war against Ukraine. The Army is inviting social media influencers to DC to learn how to reach the youths On Monday, Lancaster posted a video from the city of Mariupol in southeastern Ukraine, which has been besieged by the Russian military for weeks. The Russians have blasted their way through the city the same way they razed other cities, including Grozny in Chechnya and Aleppo in Syria. The city’s mayor has claimed that at...

Russia could be just two weeks away from achieving one of its stated aims in the conflict in Ukraine, with its troops close to taking over the entire Luhansk region in the east. The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) said Russia is now achieving tactical success in the industrial Donbas, comprised of Luhansk and Donetsk, which would give Moscow a high-profile victory. “Russian forces have generated and maintained momentum and currently appear to hold the initiative over Ukrainian opposition,” the MoD tweeted on Friday in its latest intelligence briefing.

Moscow appreciates Beijing’s support in its efforts to uphold Russia’s principal approaches to the formation of Europe’s security architecture and values China’s stance regarding the situation in Ukraine, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Wednesday. "We highly appreciate the balanced and unbiased stance of our Chinese friends regarding the situation in and around Ukraine," Lavrov said in a video address to participants of the ‘Russia and China: Cooperation in a New Era’ conference. "We are supported by Beijing in efforts to defend Russia’s principal approaches to the security architecture formation in Europe," he continued.

<p>The Office of the Prosecutor-General, a body responsible for overseeing prosecution in Russian courts, has asked the Russian Supreme Court to designate the ultranationalist Azov Battalion as a terrorist organization, potentially paving the way for the prosecution of the Azov members who surrendered to Russian forces earlier this week at the Azovstal factory in the southeastern port hub of Mariupol.</p>

With Russia claiming to have taken prisoner nearly 2,500 Ukrainian fighters from the besieged Mariupol steel plant, concerns grew about their fate as a Moscow-backed separatist leader vowed they would face tribunals....The Russian Defense Ministry released video of Ukrainian soldiers being detained after announcing that its forces had removed the last holdouts from the Mariupol plant’s extensive underground tunnels. It said a total of 2,439 had surrendered....Denis Pushilin, the pro-Kremlin head of an area of eastern Ukraine controlled by Moscow-backed separatists, said the captured fighters included some foreign nationals, though he did not provide details. He said they were sure...

Russia claimed to have captured Mariupol on Friday in what would be its biggest victory yet in its war with Ukraine, after a nearly three-month siege that reduced much of the strategic port city to a smoking ruin...Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu reported to President Vladimir Putin the “complete liberation” of the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol......As they surrendered, the troops were taken prisoner by the Russians, and at least some were taken to a former penal colony. Others were said to be hospitalized.Russia said the Azov commander was taken away from the plant in an armored vehicle.

Israeli police on Friday moved in on a crowd of mourners at the funeral of Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, beating demonstrators with batons and causing pallbearers to briefly drop the casket. The crackdown came during a rare show of Palestinian nationalism in east Jerusalem — the part of the holy city that Israel captured in 1967 and that the Palestinians claim as their capital. Israel says east Jerusalem is part of its capital and has annexed the area in a move that is not internationally recognized. Israel routinely clamps down on any displays of support for Palestinian statehood.

Hunter Biden flew to Moscow for a meeting with a now-sanctioned Russian oligarch with reportedly close ties to Vladimir Putin, laptop files reveal. Vladimir Yevtushenkov, 73, owns a company which reportedly supplied Putin's forces with drones used for deadly bombing raids in Ukraine and until last year owned key Russian defense contractor RTI. But while he was added to the UK and Australian sanctions lists this month but remains one of a handful of oligarchs unsanctioned by the Biden administration. Hunter's multiple meetings and apparent business deals with him are the latest in a troubling web of his connections to...

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday called off an operation to storm the Azovstal steel plant in the city of Mariuol, where over 2,000 Ukrainian militants remain entrenched, according to the Russian military. At a meeting with Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu, the head of state demanded that the plant be blocked so that "even a fly can’t get in or out," and another offer to surrender be made to those holed up at the facility. TASS has put together vital information on decisions made by the commander-in-chief.Russian troops and the forces of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) have taken control...

With President Trump entering the "counter-punch" phase of the Russia investigation, allies are urging him to consider two avenues -- each with its own potential payoffs and pitfalls -- to investigate the origins of the probe and hold top Justice Department officials accountable for alleged wrongdoing. Special Counsel Robert Mueller announced the completion of his investigation last week, transmitting his more than 300-page report to the Justice Department for review. Attorney General Bill Barr released a four-page summary of Mueller’s report Sunday, stating the special counsel found no evidence of collusion between members of the Trump campaign and Russia during...

Russia will transfer two to four S-300 air defense missile systems to Syria within the next two weeks, the Russian news website Kommersant reported Tuesday, citing a source familiar with the details. The amount of systems may increase in the future. The Assad regime will use the systems to defend Syria's coastline and its borders with Israel, Jordan, Lebanon and Iraq, the report said. According to the official, Russia may end up transferring up to eight systems to Syria, depending on the circumstances.Meanwhile, Russian outlet Izvestia reported that Moscow is boosting its electronic warfare systems in Syria, which were brought...

The shadow war between Israel and Iran in Syria escalated sharply on Monday after suspected Israeli strikes killed 26 Iranian and Assad regime fighters, according to monitors. One strike tore through a military base dug into a mountain near the central city of Hama on Sunday night, causing an explosion so large it registered as a 2.6 magnitude earthquake. A second strike targeted an airbase near the northern city of Aleppo. There was no claim of responsibility for the attack but suspicion immediately fell on Israel, which has carried out a number of strikes as it tries to prevent Iran...

The hidden battle in Syria – the one that rarely appears on our television screens – has been raging for years between Israel and a coalition comprising the Syrian government, Iran and the Lebanese militia Hezbollah. Watching over the proceedings without directly intervening has been Russia, although that might be about to change. The prize is control over Syrian territory but the battlefield is Syria’s skies.

WASHINGTON, April 19. /TASS/. The United States and Russia may sign a new commercial deal stipulating the delivery of US astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS), Executive Director for Piloted Space Programs at Russia’s State Space Corporation Roscosmos Sergei Krikalyov told TASS on Thursday.

President Donald Trump has defended his use of the term "mission accomplished" amid criticism following US, UK and French air strikes on targets in Syria. He accused the "fake news media" of seizing on the term to demean the strikes, carried out in response to an alleged Syrian chemical weapons attack. President George W Bush was ridiculed for appearing in front of a banner carrying the term during the Iraq war.

Faced with the threat of a U.S. strike on Syria, Russian President Vladimir Putin has a dilemma: allow U.S. missiles to hit Moscow's ally without a response or risk a military clash with the United States. If driven into a corner by a U.S. attack, Putin will be unlikely to sit back. Inaction would threaten his hard-won gains in Syria, dent Russia's prestige and erode his tough-guy image....When Ukraine's Kremlin-friendly leader was driven from power in February 2014 by mass protests, Putin reacted to what he described as a U.S.-driven coup by immediately sending troops to overtake Crimea and then...

Moscow will shoot down any U.S. missiles fired at Syria and retaliate against American launch sites, the Russian ambassador to Lebanon has warned. Ambassador Alexander Zasypkin made the comments on Tuesday while speaking on the Hezbollah-affiliated al-Manar TV channel, Reuters reported. President Donald Trump is currently considering military action against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad following Saturday’s suspected chemical attack on the rebel-held town of Douma near the capital city of Damascus. Medical relief groups say the attack killed dozens of civilians.